Nasreddine Nabi admits Kaizer Chiefs players were 'feeling extremely fatigued' as coach explains why Amakhosi played back-to-back matches in Netherlands

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi has explained why he let his players feature in back-to-back games even though they were extremely fatigued.

Amakhosi have concluded their pre-season in the Netherlands, where the Glamour Boys played in five games, with some staged back-to-back.

Apart from explaining the need for the straight games, Nabi said they faced quality opponents.

"One of the conditions of having a good season is having a good pre-season – that's where the foundation is laid," Nabi told the club's media.

"We didn't only want quality opponents. We also wanted quantity. Parallel with this, we did some tough physical work at training, even doing double sessions on the day before a match.

"We did this to have the players play games, feeling extremely fatigued. That was not only to prepare the team for the league season but also for the CAF Confederation Cup games, for which we will often have to travel for long hours. That's when players will have to perform while feeling very tired," he added.

"We even had two sessions the day after one of the friendlies, with the objective of getting the players mentally ready. That's also why we organised back-to-back matches twice, playing a friendly two days in a row. It allowed us as well to give maximum opportunities to all the players to get minutes."

Chiefs started their pre-season with a game against Vitesse on July 8 and lost 2-1 before they played Utrecht on July 11, where they were beaten 4-0. The Utrecht game was immediately followed by a duel against Nijmegen on July 12.

After the Nijmegen game, Chiefs had a little rest, as they waited until July 15 to face Zwolle. The Zwolle match was, however, followed just immediately by their last game against FC Twente on July 16.

The Glamour Boys' only win came in the fourth game against Zwolle.

After the Netherlands' trip, Chiefs are now setting their eyes on the Toyota Cup showdown, where they will play Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko on Jul 26.

Thereafter, the focus will be on the 2025/26 Premier Soccer League season. When the league and Confederation Cup campaigns begin, it will become apparent whether indeed the Netherlands trip achieved its ambitions, as Nabi explained.